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Kingsmoor Packaging gains production flexibility with VSD compressor

Kingsmoor Packaging Ltd. (KPL) has increased production capacity and improved its energy efficiency in the process as a result of installing a GA90 VSD compressor from Atlas Copco. The decision provides KPL with the flexibility to meet future growth and follows an extensive plant operation review that included undertaking an iiTrak system energy audit.

Kingsmoor Packaging thermoformed plastic packaging for the food industry uses Atlas Copco compressor for production

Kingsmoor Packaging designs and manufactures bespoke thermoformed plastic packaging for the food industry

Kingsmoor Packaging quality checking

KPL looks to the future by reviewing their existing practices and improving processes

KPL is a privately-owned family business based in Somerton, Somerset, that has been designing and manufacturing bespoke thermoformed plastic packaging for the food industry since 1990. The company supplies a range of products that are available with different microwaveable and freezable characteristics, as well as environmentally friendly options composed of at least 50 per cent post-consumer and 30 per cent industry recycled waste materials. Following an upturn in business opportunities, the company undertook a review of its plant operations with the aim of improving efficiency and, where possible, saving on costs.
Kingsmoor Packaging uses state of the art machinery

As a bespoke producer we rely on and take pride in our state-of-the art thermoforming equipment, which combined with our expertise in design, tool making and production, enables us to offer some of the most competitive plastic packaging products in the marketplace.
Dale Gunn , KPL Works Manager

To achieve this, KPL’s thermoforming process relies heavily on air movement with compressed air being available at the moulding stage. This is particularly relevant in pressure box techniques whereby the heated plastic material is formed onto a positive mould with the aid of air pressure. Although there were no major issues to address, it was felt that the compressed air system had been in use for a considerable time and “was in need of an upgrade in line with the latest developments in compressed air technology,” states Gunn.

GA90 VSD installed at Kingsmoor packaging is used to power a packaging production line

The GA90 VSD was recommended after an iiTrak energy audit

Atlas Copco was called on to carry out an iiTrak system energy audit to check the load cycle profile for each compressor in KPL’s system. The goal of this exercise is to create a representation of the air and energy being used during a typical production week. This data monitoring exercise is then used to extrapolate an annual use of compressed air, the energy used and its cost. The results of this assessment revealed that the existing fixed-speed compressor rated at 110 kW and producing 333 l/s, was operating within a fluctuating pressure band of 1.60 bar. This meant the compressor was loading and unloading between 6.4 bar and 8 bar. Every time a compressor unloads it wastes energy while the motor is idling but the air inlet control is closed and the unit is not producing air*. A general rule is that for every 1 bar a compressor operates above the required pressure the system will potentially use 7 per cent more energy. The recommendation was to install a 90 kW Atlas Copco GA90 VSD rotary screw compressor with air quality ancillaries. As the lead unit, this would match the variable production air demand in the region of 39-293 l/s and cope easily with the existing and anticipated demand. In practice, the company’s existing fixed-speed compressor was retained as back up and together with its dryer, receiver, oil water separator and pipework was re-sited from its warehouse location to the main compressor room to accompany the new GA VSD unit.

Atlas Copco was brilliant from the start, monitoring our existing equipment and recommending a new system that could operate on a lower pressure band yet provide adequate volume for any future expansion of our production output. The energy savings we’ve gained from the new installation have been even greater than originally predicted and are now estimated to be in the region of £47,000 per year.
Dale Gunn , KPL Works Manager

* A fixed-speed load/no-load compressor will operate in three different status modes: 1. Stopped - compressor motor is stopped and no energy is being used; 2. No-Load - the air compressor motor is running, but the air inlet control is closed and the unit is not producing air; 3. Loaded - the air inlet is open, the unit is producing air at full capacity and using energy productively.

Editor’s Notes:

Atlas Copco is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions. The Group serves customers with innovative compressors, vacuum solutions and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems. Atlas Copco develops products and services focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics.  The company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 180 countries. In 2016, Atlas Copco had revenues of BSEK 101 (BEUR 11)   and about 45,000 employees.

VSD Variable Speed Drive Manufacturing Industrial Air Rotary screw oil-injected General Industry Application story GA VSD United Kingdom 2017